Chain Letter is a 2010 Slasher Movie about a Serial Killer called the Chain Killer (Michael Bailey Smith) who targets teenagers, by sending them an electronic Chain Letter and stating if they don't send the letter to five others, they'll die.
Californian teen Neil Conners (Cody Kasch) ends up receiving said email and forwards it to five of his friends, including his sister: Rachael Conners (Cherilyn Wilson), Jessie Campbell (Nikki Reed), Michael (Michael J Pagan), Dante (Noah Segan) and Johnny Jones (Matt Cohen). One by one they begin to be hunted down by the Chain Killer, while Detective Jim Crenshaw (Keith David) attempts to track him down and save the teens.
Not to be confused with the trope Chain Letter, even though the film centers around them.
Distinct tropes of this film:
- Accidental Murder: The Serial Killer chains Jessie to her parent's cars, and they end up killing her by accident when they drive in opposite directions.
- Alliterative Name: Johnny Jones.
- The Bad Guy Wins: The Serial Killer succeeds in killing all his victims without suffering any real setbacks, and is planning to continue doing it.
- Big "NO!": Michael, when he fails to save Jessie.
- Black Dude Dies First: Averted. Michael turns out to be the Final Guy.
- Blatant Lies: The rule is that you're supposed to send the letter to five others, or you'll die in 24 hours. So why is it that not even ten seconds after Neil deletes several messages sent to him, he gets killed?
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Broken Aesop: Technology is bad. Using too much of it and deleting chain letters means you'll die a horrible death. ...Wait, what? - Can Only Move the Eyes: The Bound and Gagged teen at the start of the film later revealed to be Jessie can only move their eyes in helplessness.
- Chain Pain: Chains are the primary weapon of the Serial Killer in this movie, seemingly just for the Chain Letter motif. The killer uses the chains both as a whip and as a way to make gruesome death traps. Appropriately he is called the "Chain Killer".
- Cruel and Unusual Death:
- Jessie is chained to her parents' cars, who unwittingly tear her in half when they drive off to work in the morning.
- Johnny. Both his arms and legs are broken by chains, and then the killer uses said chains to slowly slice his face open.
- Deadly Bath: The Serial Killer ends up attacking Rachael while she's taking a bubble bath. She has enough time to hear him getting inside the house and throwing a robe on to go investigate but ends up ambushed and killed by him as she does.
- Downer Ending: Both Detective Crenshaw and Jessie end up killed by the Serial Killer who got away scot-free and is planning to continue, seemingly unimpeded.
- Evil Luddite: The antagonist is a technology-hating Cult who kills people by sending them chain letters, and offing them if the letters are not sent forward.
- Eye Scream: When Johnny gets killed, the killer tightens a set of chains over his eyes and slowly crushes them.
- Fingore: While Jessie is being dragged down the driveway, she scraps her fingertips along the ground.
- Half the Man He Used to Be:
- Half of one victim's body is crushed by an engine.
- Jessie gets torn in half after being chained to two moving vehicles.
- Hypocrite: The killers. Even though they believe that technology is bad, they apparently consider it acceptable to use technology to prove how bad it is.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Nice job setting off a trap and roasting Kevin Daniels alive, Detective Crenshaw.
- Shower Scene: The beginning of the film has a gratuitous scene of Jessie's mother showering, including a Toplessness from the Back shot with Sideboob.
- Serial Killer: The antagonist of the film is one that targets teens, sending them chain letters and killing them in gruesome ways if they don't forward it.
- Space Whale Aesop: Remember: never drive and talk on your cell phone at the same time. You may not notice that you're dragging your chained daughter down your driveway and are about to pull her apart with your car.
- Spoiler Opening: The film starts out with a Bound and Gagged young girl being dragged down a driveaway and presumably getting pulled apart by two cars. The only difference between the beginning and ending is that the ending confirms that the girl did die, and that she was the protagonist, Jessie.
- Teeth Flying: Johnny has two of his teeth knocked out after the killer bashes his head against a water fountain.
